My grandson was a big surprise - Telegraph Culture My grandson was a big surprise Dame Judi Dench is very close to her daughter. So why didn't she know she was pregnant? Cassandra Jardine reports 12:00AM BST 23 Aug 1997 FORTY-FIVE minutes with Dame Judi Dench can leave you feeling completely wrung out. Often, it is not so much what she is saying - "I can't do long words," she mutters apologetically - so much as the speed and intensity of her ever-changing moods that prove so riveting. One moment, her hands are flashing their full-house of rings as she describes her pleasure in a role; the next, she uses them to hide her face or doodle frantically as we touch on sensitive subjects such as her daughter. Then her crisp voice turns into a hoarse whisper, the catch in it almost painful to hear. As an actor, Dench is noted for this almost childlike immediacy. There is talk of an Oscar for her portrayal of Queen Victoria in the film Mrs Brown - and with good reason.

She is magnificent as the widowed monarch who develops a passionate attachment to her Highland servant, John Brown, switching seamlessly from regal hauteur to girlish love. Every emotion shows so clearly on her mobile face that you feel you can read her mind. I had not expected her, in person, to give a performance of equal range and intensity. Her reputation is for easy charm; a delightful simplicity derived from her Quaker schooling and beliefs. She is also known to have a happy marriage to the actor Michael Williams and a penchant for needlework, drawing and writing letters. Yet she tells me that she feels like "a seething melting pot", beset by self-doubts more suitable to an adolescent than a Dame of 62. One is tempted to conclude that the events of the past couple of months may have stripped away her protective covering, leaving her unable to disguise the conflicting emotions that make her mesmerising on stage. Related Articles 31 May 1997: (archive report) 23 Aug 1997 On June 6, her beloved only child, Finty, 24, went into labour and produced a son, Sam.

Mother and daughter have always been very close: "There is nothing that Finty couldn't tell me," Dench has said in the past. Yet neither she nor her husband realised that their daughter was about to become a single parent until a few days before the birth. The irony of her situation can only have made it worse. While Finty was becoming ever more heavily pregnant, Dench was rehearsing Amy's View, a David Hare play in which she plays an actress whose daughter comes to see her in an identical, but less advanced state. "When did you guess?" asks Amy. "The moment I saw you," Esme (played by Dench) responds. "Actors," as Dench tells me later, "must have an all-seeing eye and an all-hearing ear" - and yet here was her daughter hiding an enormous secret, and her mother didn't notice. Was it that she didn't look pregnant? After all, Dench herself had played a 16-year-old in London Assurance while six months gone. "No, it wasn't that," she says, looking bleak. Was it that Dench, who has poor eyesight, simply didn't see Finty's bulge?

"No, it wasn't that either." She pauses, her voice dropping very low. "I don't want to talk about it," she says, adding weakly: "It's just lovely." It may be that she was simply so absorbed in her work that she didn't notice - after all, she has an extraordinary ability not just to play a part but to become it. But she has had enough now; I have strayed too far into personal territory. When Dench is cross, she can be a little terrifying. Under the helmet of whitey-grey hair, her eyes (unnaturally blue, I discover, due to tinted contact lenses) glint dangerously. But this is nothing compared with the rage she displays when she talks of one particular critic. The man in question had reviewed Finty in a play. "He dared to compare her with me: an actress who has been in the business for five years with one who has been working for 40. If I met him, I would black his eyes. I cannot tell you how angry it makes me.

It is very hard for the children of actors; they are not judged on their own merits." Both she and Williams tried to dissuade Finty from following them, but "Finty is very much her own woman," says Dench, her anger now abruptly snuffed. Like mother, like daughter, I venture. "We have the same profile," she says, "but, in character, she is different. Wiser. She thinks things through; I act on impulse." Behind Dench's reticence and depth of feeling on this subject may lie a fear that she is indirectly responsible for her daughter's troubles. (Four years ago, Finty burnt down their Hampstead house, having fallen asleep with a lighted candle by the bed.) She insists that she never spoilt her but admits Finty may have found it demoralising professionally to be Dame Judi Dench's daughter. Their Sussex house is now home to Finty and Sam, too. "It is lovely to be four when once we were three," says Dench with obvious delight. Has she bought any baby clothes or teddies? I ask, taking advantage of her softer mood.

She is "too busy" for that, she snaps; she doesn't feel the experience has changed her at all, nor has it helped her in her role in Amy's View and that is all there is to say. It is perhaps no surprise that Dench should be sensitive about her daughter, but one is less prepared to find that she can take quick offence at references to her own appearance and to her undisputed talent. Earlier in the day, she had been asked why she kept her hair so short and the mere question made her furious. "I have baby hair," she says. "I could never keep it long; it would go all feathery. Anyway, I cut it all off when I wasn't asked to play Ophelia in America because my notices weren't good enough." That was in 1957, and it was a rare droplet of criticism in the ocean of praise and awards that she has received for her acting. Yet, although she is booked well into the new year, with Amy's View and another television series of As Time Goes By, she still frets about her career. When she lies awake at night, she says: "I think of the past; I don't dare think of the future.

There is so much new talent and I always think of Sir John Gielgud's words, 'You are only as good as your last part'." Then there is "the terror" she feels every night before she goes on stage; sometimes, she admits, she even corpses: "Not from naughtiness, but nerves." She seems in need of constant reassurance in her personal life, too, to judge by the roses Michael has sent her weekly for many years and the quantity of rings ("all gifts") on her fingers. No whiff of scandal has attached itself to their marriage in 26 years, yet Dench has often worried that her shy Catholic husband might one day walk out. Underneath the Quakerish niceness, she seems to live at a pitch of almost unbearable intensity. Whenever she studies a part, she looks for a similar resonance. "I can always find the passion in a character," she says. "When I read Queen Victoria's Highland Journal, I was astounded by the passion in it. In Shakespeare, sometimes you have to read between the lines to find it, but it's there." She also finds a blackness in many of her characters.

In her first scene as Queen Victoria, for example, she plays the monarch sitting at her desk, all rigid duty until she suddenly gives way to overwhelming grief. Where, in what she calls her "larder" of experience, does she find such turbulent emotions? "My husband also asks that," she says. "He wonders about this well of emotion. I think we all have it in us. Sometimes I even surprise myself by what comes bubbling up." Her childhood provides a few clues. Dench is one of three children of a York GP and her parents seem to have had this same vulnerability. "It really is true," she says, "that when I appeared as Juliet and said: 'Where are my mother and father?', my father said: 'We're here in Row H, darling'. He wasn't thinking; the tears were streaming down his face." Although popular, she was a shy child. "I remember once arriving late at a party; everything stopped as I was led in. After that, I accepted invitations, but pretended to be ill at the last moment. I'm not good at communicating.

Only when I am acting can I make people feel thoughtful or frustrated or infuriated." Initially, she had hoped to be a ballerina, then a designer - she still draws pictures of each character she plays so she can visualise them - but at her Quaker boarding school, she discovered acting. Surely Quakers disapproved of drawing attention to oneself by acting? "They used to," she replies. "The school encouraged acting, but they would never let you show off for more than one night. When I played Queen Margaret in Richard II, another girl played the part the following night. I had this sense of someone being just there," and she pats her shoulder, "so I put everything into it." Could that explain her feeling that someone is always about to replace her? "It might," she concedes. It could also account for her tendency - no doubt unconscious - to upstage other actors by never remaining still. In Amy's View, during another character's speech, she runs around patting cushions as she looks for cigarettes. "It's all in the script," she says. I check; it isn't. Judi Dench, one is relieved to discover, is no saint. "Certainly not. Nor am I cosy," she adds.

She is funny, mercurial, spiky and competitive. And behind the charming manner lies an actress who would like to be even more of a star. That anxiety makes her a wonderful performer, but also a hard act for her daughter to follow. Mrs Brown opens nationwide on September 5. 1000+ images about Dame Judi Dench. on Pinterest | Vanessa redgrave, Judi dench and As time goes by Your hands can say it all. | How To Be Fabulous, As Told By Helen Mirren, Maggie Smith And Judi Dench See More Judi Dench Net Worth 2017-2016, Biography, Wiki - UPDATED! - Celebrity Net Worth Fact 1 A section of the paved river bank alongside the River Ouse in York, upstream of Lendal Bridge near the Museum Gardens, was named Dame Judi Dench Walk in honour of the city being her birthplace.

2 She has two roles in common with Helen Mirren: (1) Dench played Titania in A Midsummer Night's Dream (1968), in which Mirren also appeared, while Mirren played her in A Midsummer Night's Dream (1981) and (2) Dench played Queen Elizabeth I in Shakespeare in Love (1998) while Mirren played her in Elizabeth I (2005). 3 Is one of 26 actresses who have received an Academy Award for their performance in a comedy; hers being for Shakespeare in Love (1998).

The others in chronological order, are: Claudette Colbert (It Happened One Night (1934)), Loretta Young (The Farmer's Daughter (1947)), Josephine Hull (Harvey (1950)), Judy Holliday (Born Yesterday (1950)), Audrey Hepburn (Roman Holiday (1953)), Goldie Hawn (Cactus Flower (1969)), Glenda Jackson (A Touch of Class (1973)), Lee Grant (Shampoo (1975)), Diane Keaton (Annie Hall (1977)), Maggie Smith (California Suite (1978)), Mary Steenburgen (Melvin and Howard (1980)), Jessica Lange (Tootsie (1982)), Anjelica Huston (Prizzi's Honor (1985)), Olympia Dukakis (Moonstruck (1987)), Cher (Moonstruck (1987)), Jessica Tandy (Driving Miss Daisy (1989)), Mercedes Ruehl (The Fisher King (1991)), Marisa Tomei (My Cousin Vinny (1992)), Dianne Wiest (B

ullets Over Broadway (1994)), Mira Sorvino (Mighty Aphrodite (1995)), Frances McDormand (Fargo (1996)), Helen Hunt (As Good as It Gets (1997)), Gwyneth Paltrow (Shakespeare in Love (1998)), Penelope Cruz (Viki, Kristina, Barselona (2008)), and Jennifer Lawrence (Silver Linings Playbook (2012)).

4 Was the 114th actress to receive an Academy Award; she won the Best Supporting Actress Oscar for Shakespeare in Love (1998) at The 71st Annual Academy Awards (1999) on March 21, 1999. 5 As of 2014, has appeared in four films that were nominated for the Best Picture Oscar: A Room with a View (1985), Shakespeare in Love (1998), Chocolat (2000) and Philomena (2013). The only film to win in the category was Shakespeare in Love (1998). 6 The longest she has gone without an Oscar nomination is the 7 years between Notes on a Scandal (2006) and Philomena (2013). 7 Her father, Reginald Arthur Dench, was from Dorset, England, and her mother, Eleanora Olive (Jones), was from Dublin, Ireland. 8 Playing Mistress Quickly in a production of The Merry Wives of Windsor - The Musical at the Royal Shakespeare Theatre in Stratford-upon-Avon, UK.

[January 2007] 9 She visited Staunton, Virginia to promote the Shenandoah Shakespeare Theatre. [May 2004] 10 She played a Countess in William Shakespeare's "All's Well That Ends Well" in London West End. [February 2004] 11 Dench is a supporter of Everton Football Club and she has been named as a patron of the soccer team's official charity "Everton in the Community". 12 Counts Mrs Brown (1997) as the movie that became the quintessential breakthrough event of her career as a film actress, winning her her first Oscar nomination. Even though she'd performed regularly on stage in the US in Old Vic productions almost 40 years earlier, it wasn't until after this movie that Hollywood really came calling. 13 A lifelong animal lover, Judi is the proud owner of a racehorse named Smokey Oakey. Also owns a dog, 4 cats, 2 Guinea pigs and some fish. 14 Going blind due to condition called macular degeneration. Does not plan to retire [February 19, 2012].

15 Has had custody of her grandson, Sammy Williams (b. 1997), since 2004 following her daughter Finty Williams's rehabilitation for alcoholism. 16 Became engaged to Michael Williams during Christmas 1970 after he proposed to her on a beach in Australia. 17 Following the birth of her daughter, Finty Williams, Dench and her husband immediately began trying for another child. However, having been unsuccessful, the couple looked into adoption when Dench was in her 40s, but they were turned down. 18 Was six months pregnant with her daughter, Finty Williams, when she completed her run of the play "London Assurance". 19 Whilst training at the Old Vic Theatre in the 1950s, Dench shared a flat with Barbara Leigh-Hunt. 20 Has twice been nominated for an Oscar in the same year that another actress was nominated for playing the same role. She received Best Supporting Actress for playing Queen Elizabeth I in Shakespeare in Love (1998), while Cate Blanchett was nominated for Elizabeth (1998).

She was later nominated for Best Actress in Iris (2001), for which Kate Winslet was also nominated for the title role. 21 In her autobiography "And Furthermore," Dench says that she never really understood what was going on in the movie The Chronicles of Riddick (2004), but she enjoyed the experience of making the movie, and she thought the sets were great. 22 In a 2004 opinion poll of the Royal Shakespeare Company, Dame Dench's performance as "Lady Macbeth" in Trevor Nunn's 1976 production of "Macbeth" was voted the second greatest Shakespearean performance of all time. Only Paul Scofield's masterful "King Lear" was ranked higher. 23 She was awarded the OBE (Officer of the Order of the British Empire) in the 1970 Queen's Honours List and awarded Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire in the 1988 Queen's New Years Honours List for her services to drama. 24 Awarded honorary D.Litt from the University of St Andrews, June 2008. 25 Good friend of Paul Scofield.

26 First woman to portray the 007 series character "M", which she did in GoldenEye (1995). 27 She is a frequent co-star of her close friend Geoffrey Palmer. 28 Judi Dench is the new narrator of "Spaceship Earth", the dark ride at EPCOT. She replaced Jeremy Irons after Walt Disney World and Siemens decided to update the classic ride housed inside the infamous golf-ball. 29 Provides the narration for Spaceship Earth at Walt Disney World's Epcot in the 4th version (soft opening December 2007, final opening scheduled for February 2008). 30 She and her The Shipping News (2001) and Notes on a Scandal (2006) co-star Cate Blanchett both received Oscar-nominations for playing Queen Elizabeth I in 1999. Dench won for her supporting role in Shakespeare in Love (1998) while Blanchett was nominated for Elizabeth (1998). 31 At the opening of the Judi Dench Theatre in London in 1986 she was introduced as "Here she is, Miss Judy Geeson'.

32 Shares two roles with both Kate Winslet and Cate Blanchett. She and Winslet both played the title role in Iris (2001), and she and Blanchette have both played Queen Elizabeth. All three of them have played Ophelia in Hamlet. 33 Was not able to attend the Oscars in 2007, because she had to undergo a knee surgery. 34 When she started training at the Central School of Speech and Drama, she admits she wasn't taking it as seriously as she ought to have done. She was caught out during an improvisation scene at which point she realised that that was what it was all about and studied harder than she had ever done in her life. 35 As of 2014, received seven Oscar nominations, all of them when she was already over the age of 60. No other actor or actress collected more nominations when older than 60, the closest runner-ups being Katharine Hepburn, Paul Newman, Laurence Olivier, Spencer Tracy, Melvyn Douglas and Edith Evans with a mere three nominations each. 36 She and Vanessa Redgrave were in the same class at drama school.

37 Attended the Mount School and at the Central School of Speech and Drama in London. 38 Topped the poll in Britain's Finest Actresses, July 2005 39 Currently supporting the Theatre Royal, Bury St. Edmunds Restoration Appeal (2005). 40 She was awarded a Companion of Honour in the 2005 Queen's Birthday Honours List for her services to drama. 41 Was listed as a potential nominee on the 2005 Razzie Award nominating ballot. She was listed as a suggestion in the Worst Supporting Actress category for her performance in the film The Chronicles of Riddick (2004), she failed to receive a nomination however. 42 Voted Best British Actress of all time in a poll for Sky TV [Feb 2005]. 43 Won Broadway's 1999 Tony Award as Best Actress (Play) for "Amy's View." 44 An Associate Member of RADA. 45 She was awarded the 1997 London Evening Standard Theatre Award: The Patricia Rothermere Award for her contributions to theatre.

46 She was awarded the 1997 London Critics Circle Theatre Award (Drama) for Best Actress for her performance in Amy's View at the Royal National Theatre. 47 Even after winning so many acting awards, she still admits to being insecure and wanting to improve the next performance. She admits that she prefers stage first, television second and film in third place. 48 During the filming of As Time Goes By (1992) , she used to direct everybody to hide from the director when he left the set. 49 She was awarded the 1982 London Evening Standard Award for Best Actress for her performance in A Kind of Alaska and The Importance of Being Earnest. 50 She was awarded the 1987 London Evening Standard Theatre Award for Best Actress for her performance in Anthony and Cleopatra. 51 She was awarded the 1987 London Critics Circle Theatre Award (Drama Theatre Award) for Best Actress for her performance in Anthony and Cleopatra. 52 She was awarded the 1982 London Critics' Circle Theatre Award (Drama Theatre Award) for Best Actress of 1981 for A Kind Of Alaska and The Importance of Being Earnest.

53 She was awarded the 2004 Laurence Olivier Theatre Special Award for her Outstanding Contributions to British Theatre. 54 Younger sister of Jeffery Dench. 55 She was nominated for a 1998 Laurence Olivier Theatre Award for Best Actress of the 1997 season for her performance in Amy's View at the Royal National Theatre: Lyttelton and then Aldwych theatres. 56 She was nominated for a Laurence Olivier Theatre Award in 1999 (1998 season) for Best Actress for her performance in Filumena. 57 She was awarded the Laurence Olivier Theatre Award in 1996 (1995 season) for Best Actress in a Play for her performance in Absolute Hell at the Royal National Theatre Lyttleton Stage. 58 She was awarded the Laurence Olivier Theatre Award in 1996 (1995 season) for Best Actress in a Musical for her performance in A Little Night Music at the Royal National Theatre Olivier Stage. 59 Presented with The Society's Special Award for her outstanding contribution to British theatre at the 2004 Laurence Olivier Awards.

[February 2004] 60 She was awarded the Laurence Olivier Theatre Award in 1988 (1987 season) for Best Actress in a New Play for Antony and Cleopatra. 61 She was awarded the Laurence Olivier Theatre Award in 1984 (1983 season) for Best Actress in a New Play for Pack of Lies. 62 Was awarded an honourary Litt.D. (Doctor in Letters) from Trinity College on Friday, 11th July, 2003. 63 Awarded an honorary DLitt by Oxford University on 28 June 2000. 64 Received the Film Actress Award for her role in Chocolat at The Variety Club Showbusiness Awards 2002. Unfortunately Ms Dench was in attendance at the Berlin Film Festival and couldn't attend the Awards ceremony, but was able to send a televised message congratulating the charity on its 50th anniversary. 65 She was ranked second in the 2001 Orange Film Survey of the greatest British Film Actresses.

66 She was cast to play "Grizabella" in the original West End production of "CATS", but she tore her Achilles Tendon and was forced to quit the musical. Elaine Paige replaced her. 67 Created the role of Sally Bowles in the London premiere of the musical, Cabaret. 68 Mother, with Michael Williams, of Finty Williams. 69 Her 1999 Oscar was awarded for an eight-minute performance in only four scenes as "Queen Elizabeth I" in Shakespeare in Love (1998). It is the second shortest performance ever to win a Best Supporting Actress Oscar, the only shorter one being Beatrice Straight's six-minute performance in Network (1976). 70 She made history in 1996 as the first person to win two Laurence Olivier awards (for British theatre) for different roles. 71 Celebrate the things you can do and also try to do new things. 2 You should take your job seriously but not yourself. That is the best combination. 3 I'm always fearful. Fear in you generates a huge energy. You can use it. When I feel that mounting fear, I think, 'Oh yes, there it is'. It's like petrol.

4 National treasure? I hate that. Too dusty, too in a cupboard, too behind glass, too staid. I don't want to be thought of as recognisable - I always want to do the most different thing I can think of next. I don't want to be known for one thing, or as having done huge amounts of Shakespeare and the classics. I hate speaking as myself. I could never do a one-woman show. But I love being part of a company. On stage I am not trying to be myself, I'm trying to be someone else, the more unlike me the better. I remember someone who saw me in Juno and the Paycock said I was completely unrecognisable. How marvellous. I've done two sitcoms, lots of films. Look at my character [an obsessive, damaged stalker] in Notes on a Scandal. You wouldn't want to ask her around. 5 I'm more comfortable on stage, where there is an audience to tell a story to, as opposed to a film set where you are not in charge at all. On stage you can hear an audience's reactions. Within two minutes of a play starting you know how the evening will go.

On film you're more reliant on the director. The moment he leaves you, you're like a child learning to walk. 6 I had no film career until Mrs Brown (1997), which Harvey Weinstein oversaw. He gave a lunch for me at the time and I told him I had his name tattooed on my bum. I hadn't, I had my make-up lady design something that I showed him. He's never forgotten it. 7 I am very un-divaish. Very rarely in 52 years in the business have I met anyone who has behaved in a selfish way. 8 I'd never met [Sophia Loren] and she arrived on set just as I was about to perform my number. She sat and watched. I said to Rob Marshall: 'I can't have ever been more frightened than at this moment.' It was like someone had given me an enormous injection. I suddenly had to be on the ball. 9 The passion doesn't lessen over time but you get more anxious. You always worry about getting employed. But I love what I do ... You're only as good as the last thing you did. But that anxiety feeds what you're doing. It gives you energy. It's very much part of me.

You know that right behind you, stretching back as far as you can see, are other people wanting to play the same part and probably better than you. 10 [on ageing.] I don't like it at all. Suddenly I get up out of a chair and can't rush across the room. But there's nothing I can do about that, alas. My energy levels are OK, but I can't see very well. People have to come up and wave at me. If a restaurant is too dark I can end up talking to the backs of chairs. 11 Once, a long time ago, I read some bad reviews and I made the decision not to read the reviews. You get some critics who don't like you, or the play. But they don't have to do it every night. I don't want to be affected like that. I loved doing "Madame de Sade. A friend told me not to apologise for myself or the play, and I won't. Then I cast it all off and go and put my feet up under the chimney with my family 12 [Does she miss Michael Williams?] You bet. I don't expect you ever get over that.

Time changes something, I suppose, but you miss the basic things. Michael was a realist, down to earth, a Lancashire man. I'm a Yorkshire woman and so that was pretty volatile, I suppose. He was Cancerian, I'm Sagittarian. He would say: 'I'm always rushing for the dark, you're always rushing for the light. If we hold in the middle, there's a kind of balance'. 13 [Could she find love with anyone else?] It's not something that's ever happened. I've loved living in the same house, in the same grounds with my family. Sammy (grandson) was 4 when Michael died and he does look extraordinarily like him sometimes. 14 [Does she feel fulfilled?] No, no, no, no, I hope not. Being fulfilled is closing the drawer again and I don't want to do that just yet. I'd bore myself silly. I wouldn't learn anything new. I'd just sit around and I hate wasting time. I hate waste of any kind. I love quiz programmes. I am riveted by The Weakest Link (2000) but I'd be too terrified to appear on it.

15 When you go abroad people always talk with such love about British theatre, but the irony is it's not appreciated by the Government as it should be. The state of the arts has always been, and will always be, precarious. But there is something so alarming about the huge cuts made to companies, particularly when you read of the astronomical amounts some people are earning. 16 I mourn that there are so many repertory companies that aren't around any more. I don't want the arts to take the form of a reality programme. I heard somebody say the other day that it is good if people can bring drink and food into a theatre and get up and go if they don't like the play. Well, yes, go out if you don't like it, but where do you draw the line? They tell people not to take pictures of us on stage but when you look up you see 100 red lights twinkling at you. 17 [Celebrity culture has led to a "quick fix" mentality on the part of younger actors.] They think a big part will change their life, without any back-up. Young actors go into a run and don't do all the performances. That would have been unheard of at one time.

I know I can sustain a run because of my training. 18 Of course I have a temper. Who hasn't? And the older I get the more angry I get about things. It's not sudden anger, it smoulders and then if I really let it go on for a bit the shit hits the fan. I get very angry about general injustice. I get angry about the way people say 'Tomorrow X will make a speech about X'. Just let them say it. I get furious about the whole business of not allowing conkers in school, and banning things because they are supposedly dangerous. I am riveted by the current Iraq inquiry, though angry already because I feel it will end with a report and nobody's actually going to be arraigned for what happened. 19 On plastic surgery: I've considered it, but I'm too old now. Every time I go to America I wonder if there is some process where it could all be sucked out and I could be out of there in time for dinner, but I'm frightened it would all drop off under the anaesthetic. 20 The best moment of playing [William Shakespeare's] Juliet is the nanosecond when they offer you the part.

21 I don't think anybody can be told how to act. I think you can give advice. But you have to find your own way through it. 22 I don't like reading scripts very much. I like it better for someone to just explain to me what it is about this story. 23 And then it was working with Bob Hoskins, who I had never worked with before - except radio. It was like being given a wonderful meal - full of the things you love most. 24 I hate how people have been attacking Daniel Craig. It's despicable and it disgusts me. I have filmed with him in Prague and the Bahamas and he is a fine actor. He brings something new and edgy to the role. His critics will be proved wrong. 25 [in 1994, when asked why A Room with a View (1985) was such a success] I've never seen it, so I don't know. Florence was lovely, of course, and it's a wonderful love story. I did enjoy doing the part, because Maggie Smith and I were old friends from 1958.

We both arrived in Florence on the same day and neither of us had any family with us, so we would spend all day together filming and then go out to dinner together, catching up on our Old Vic days. But I didn't enjoy working with James Ivory. I didn't feel that I was on his wavelength and I didn't feel that he wanted me in the film, I have to say that. I remember doing that scene in the middle of the square where she goes mad and attacks the man selling postcards; James went to see the rushes and told me afterwards that everyone had laughed at it, they'd thought it was very funny. "Well done", he said to me. I thought perhaps we'd turned the corner but, when I came to post-sync the film, that scene was missing. When I asked why, he told me that Helena Bonham Carter hadn't been feeling up to it that day, so he'd cut the whole sequence. I don't know if that was the real reason he cut it - I just don't know.

26 Expresso - A film by Kevin Powis and Martin Nigel Davey Yiu-han is a veteran of over 70 films and became one of Hong Kong's most popular comedy stars both on television and on the big screen. In the west Richard is best known for his role as an ex-con in he "Lucky Stars" series of films alongside Jackie Chan and Sammo Hung. Richard is an expert at visual comedy, and throughout his career in Hong Kong he specialised in character acting, and was best known for his Clouseau-esque bumbling detectives in films such as Jackie Chans "Miracles". His on screen skills have twice earned him nominations for Best Actor at the Hong Kong Film Awards. Now living in England with his British born wife Richard has taken on more serious acting roles making appearances in "The Bill", as well as being a regular character in the Scottish soap opera "River City". Although now semi-retired from filmmaking Richard still flies back to Hong Kong to appear in selected films and to support his son Carl who has followed in his footsteps as an actor. DON WARRINGTON Don was first known for playing Philip Smith in Rising Damp, alongside Leonard Rossiter and Richard Beckinsale.

He has appeared in many television programmes over the past 30 years including crime drama C.A.T.S. Eyes, Red Dwarf, Manchild, New Street Law and portrayed Rassilon in several Doctor Who audio plays. Don appeared as "The President (of Great Britain)" in the Doctor Who (2006) episode Rise of the Cybermen. Soon after, he recorded an abridged audio book of the Doctor Who novel The Art of Destruction by Stephen Cole. He is also one of the interviewees on the BBC 2 series Grumpy Old Men. He has also appeared in a series of Kenco coffee advertisements in which he plays a coffee plantation owner. Well known for his suave, cultured voice, Don has also performed with the National Theatre, The Royal Shakespeare Company, Bristol Old Vic and regularly provides voice-overs for both BBC TV and radio.

GEOFFREY HUGHES Although appearing in many television plays and series, Geoffrey is probably best known for portraying ï¿½Onslowï¿½ ï¿½ the less than salubrious brother-in-law of Hyacinth Bucket ï¿½ in Keeping Up Appearances, the loveable rogue ï¿½Scrippsï¿½ in Heartbeat and Hilda Ogdenï¿½s scallywag lodger ï¿½Eddie Yatesï¿½ in Coronation Street. He played ï¿½Trinculoï¿½ in the BBCï¿½s filmed version of The Tempest, ï¿½Squire Clodpolï¿½ in Good Friday 1663 (a Ch4 avant-garde opera) and ï¿½Twiggyï¿½ in The Royal Family. Geoffrey's film credits include The Bofors Gun, Virgin Soldiers, Adolf Hitler My Part in his Downfall, Carry on at Your Convenience and television films Needle and The Man from the Pru. He was also the voice of ï¿½Paul McCartneyï¿½ in the Beatleï¿½s cartoon film Yellow Submarine.

Finty trained at the Central School of Speech and Drama in London. She has starred in a number of British films including Mrs Brown and Gosford Park. She had a recurring role in the TV series Born and Bred, also a voice over artist Finty plays the title character in the animated children's series Angelina Ballerina and has appeared in many BBC radio plays. She has also worked in the theatre touring in plays such as Party Piece, Bedroom Farce and One for the Pot. Finty is the daughter of actors Dame Judi Dench and Michael Williams. GUY HENRY After leaving RADA in 1982 Guy Henry went straight into a the TV series Young Sherlock playing the lead, since t hen he has been in a regular member of the Royal Shakespeare Company and the National Theatre - recent stage work includes 'Mary Stuart' 'King John' 'Alls well that ends well' in the 'Alchemist' Guy was nominated for a Oliver award.

His Television work over the last few years include - Thomas Beckett, The Chase, Colditz, 'Hotel Babylon' 'Rome' and 'John Adams' (HBO) and of course playing the BBC boss in 'Extras' His many films include V for Vendetta, Bright Young Things, Emma, The Chronicles of Riddick. Guy is also the voice on many Radio plays and he can also be heard each morning on Sarah Kennedy's Radio Two show. VINCENT FRANKLIN Vincent has appeared on stage in a number of theatre plays and his TV and film roles have been varied. In the past heï¿½s featured in Hustle, Casualty, The Bourne Identity and Vera Drake to name but a few on-screen productions. One of his latest roles was as a wedding organiser in the acclaimed feature film "Confetti". He also featured in what is probably accepted as one of the best episodes of the mega successful TV series "The Office" ï¿½ Training Day. Martin Nigel Davey. Martin says when growing up that his dad an Irish builder - and a bit of a character - would hold all night long parties inviting every troubled soul to the house to cheer them up!!

Because of this Martin found human nature fascinating from a young age. Martin left school and joined a full time youth theatre group touring with plays and shows. He also studied acting for a year at Birmingham School of Speech and Drama. In his 20s Martin concentrated on his love of sport and went on to represent Great Britain at the Triathlon. In 2000 he returned to the acting world appearing in various stage productions. He also played Jesus in two different productions which gained praise from the directors and public. In feature films and on television Martin has played many characters - beggars, drunks, even a psychopath, twice, on Crimewatch. He has appeared in a variety of period dramas - Thomas Beckett, Forsyte Saga, The Virgin Queen, King Arthur, and played Richard III on Channel 4's The Monarchy. Recently Martin had a role along side Reese Witherspoon in 'Penelope' and John Hurt in 'The Oxford Murders' more info at martinnigeldavey.co.uk Lucy Mans Lucy attended the Hertfordshire based Jason Theatre School from which Victoria Beckham was also a pupil.

Lucy comes from a showbiz family, Her six aunts were all professional dancers, who were part of the John Tiller Group in their time, dancing as the popular Tiller Girls. Lucy is also a second cousin to legendary film actor Cary Grant! She has worked as a catwalk model at London Fashion week, and appeared in many photo shoots for magazines and newspapers, plus a major campaign in Madrid. With stage and television experience behind her, including several West End appearances, work with channel 4, appearances on Coronation Street and Hollyoaks. Lucy as also worked on the production side of television working on such shows as Big Brother, Saturday Night Project, Gordon Ramsay's "F" Word, Trinnie & Susanna, Brush With Fame, and more recently T4. LEWIS HARWOOD Lewis Harwood graduated with distinction from the Birmingham School of Acting in 2005. Theatre roles include Vindice in Revengerï¿½s Tragedy, Astrov in Uncle Vanya and Geza in The Stonewatcher; where his portrayal of a young autistic man was deemed "superb" (Birmingham Evening Mail). Lewis has also toured nationally with the poetry ensemble piece Being Alive.

Other film and television work includes the lead in the short film Late, The Pact and appearances in two BBC Inside Out programs, one of which was nominated for a Royal Television Society Award JOANNE MCCALLIN Joanne has trained part time professionally as an actor for the past 10 years having gained a LAMDA qualification at the Birmingham School of Speech and Drama at the age of 14 and having recently trained there, or as it is now known ï¿½the Birmingham School of Acting in performance and Effective Communication. Joanne has appeared on many programmes including BBC Doctors and Casualty. ISABELLE WARING Izzy says has always loved acting but didn't realise how long she'd been doing it until recently, at an old school reunion, a friend commented on how when reading aloud in class she would always read the different characters in different voices ("no wonder the teacher was always asking me to read, must have amused them"). Izzy joined a Saturday morning acting class in Birmingham when she was 13 and has been acting ever since. She's played a variety of roles over the years and has loved most of them. She occasionally does 'extra' work and with a friend runs her own drama company.

They have won quite a few awards for comedy, last year (2006) taking 5 awards from the All England Festival. ADANELY NUNEZ Adanely was born and grew up in Mexico. Since she was a little girl she was fascinated by music and dancing and later acted in several teenage plays and shows. Adanely graduated from the highly respected CEA (The Centre of Artistic Education) in Television S.A. de C.V in Mexico City, the best academy in Latin America for acting in Theatre, Film and Television. After leaving the school she worked professionally as a television sports presenter and became the face of many advertisements throughout Argentina, Mexico and Miami - she even represented Mexico in the competition 'Top model in the world' ! But acting was her first love and when she appeared in one episode of the Mexican soap opera "Bajo la misma piel" she was spotted by the television studios and immediately offered a main role in the Colombia TV series "Amor de mis amores". Adanely now divides her time between Mexico and London where she is studying English. "Expresso" is Adanely's first UK Film.

Question: Who is the mother of Finty Williams, the actress who provides the voice of the cartoon character 'Angelina Ballerina'?
Answer: Judi Dench